The Secret Daughter

by Roz Denny Fox

  A whistling Adam Ross waltzed in, brandishing a sizable bag from a Chinese takeout. He swallowed his last note and dropped the sack, which spread cartons of piping-hot food all over the floor between him and Denise.

  Needing less time to assess what was going on than Noelani had earlier, Adam dived toward the woman holding the pistol.

  Anticipating his move, Denise nimbly leaped aside.

  Noelani was suddenly faced with two choices. Go for the phone and punch in 911 or try to disarm Denise. Being closer to the phone, she lunged toward it. The minute she touched the receiver, Denise trained her deadly weapon on Adam’s heart.

  It hit Noelani like a Mack truck. Adam’s arrival was no surprise to the armed woman. She’d anticipated this joyful reunion. Noelani’s anger soared as she realized Denise had, in all probability, listened in on Adam’s declaration of love and her own response to his marriage proposal.

  As she let the receiver slide through her unsteady fingers, another momentous truth struck Noelani. She’d never told Adam she loved him. He’d said the words to her, but then they’d kissed and were summarily interrupted by two workmen. She could die here tonight and Adam would never know how she felt about him.

  “Adam, I love you,” she blurted, rising on her toes to peer around Denise and make eye contact with the man she didn’t want to live without.

  “That’s music to my ears. Sugar pie.” Their eyes locked as if they were oblivious to the danger they faced.

  “How touching,” Denise sneered. “You made a bad choice, Adam. We’d have been good together. I would’ve cared for Magnolia Manor the way your mother once did.”

  “Noelani, no!” Adam cried out a split second too late. But she’d already taken a step closer to Denise and aimed a lightning kick at the woman’s weapon.

  The angle was bad, which forced her to kick across Denise’s body. When Adam yelled, Denise whirled, not toward the sound, but toward the threat. Her weapon discharged.

  Noelani stumbled, cried out, hit the desk and went down on both knees. The phone and the pineapple paperweight Adam had given her crashed to the floor. Glass splintered explosively around her.

  Fearing Noelani had been struck by the bullet, Adam launched his full body weight at Denise. For so slender a woman, she was surprisingly strong and wiry. And proved to be as slippery as a wet shark.

  Since the sharp sting she felt was in the vicinity of her previous injury, Noelani thought she’d probably snapped the fragile, healing bone. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she called on every ounce of her martial arts discipline to crawl through glass particles to where the phone dangled by its cord.

  She prayed Adam was holding his own as she dialed 911. Following her plea for patrol cars, she asked the dispatcher to notify Casey’s friend Remy Boucherand. Then she rang the vat room to get Adam some help.

  “Let go of me!” Denise kicked, scratched and bit Adam. “Duke Fontaine ruined my father. I’ll make his family pay and pay and pay. Adam, don’t side with her! You and I can still make a deal. Listen to me, Adam. Think! Your mom lost everything to money-grubbers, too. We’re alike, you and I.”

  “Denise, quit now! For old time’s sake, I’d rather not hurt you.” Adam had her arms pinned, but from the way she twisted and bucked, he was afraid she’d get loose.

  “Noelani?” he panted. “How are you holding up? Did you get the police? Are they sending an ambulance for you?”

  “My arm’s numb, that’s all. I hit the desk when I fell. I probably broke my collarbone again.”

  Two workmen from the vat room burst through the door, cutting off whatever else she might have said. One had a length of rope, which he threw to Adam. Denise spit and hissed as he bound her hands tightly behind her back. She’d clammed up completely, however, by the time the police arrived—two uniformed cops and Remy, none of whom knew the detective Denise claimed to have dated. Remy hurled a barrage of questions at her.

  In weak spurts, Noelani filled them in on Mike Arceneaux’s discovery. She pointed out the electronic bug Denise had ripped off the wall. “You’ll probably find another one upstairs in the lab. Heaven knows where else she might have planted them.”

  Adam had gone to stand by Noelani. “Ask her about the other mill accidents. And I’ll bet she pushed Noelani down the stairs a few weeks ago, too.”

  Tossing her head, Denise bared her teeth at him.

  Adam glanced worriedly at Noelani’s pale face. “Are you in pain? You’re so white….”

  She roused herself and said faintly, “I…ah…want Remy to…get whatever information he needs to…lock Denise up for a good, long stretch.”

  “Sugar pie, they have more than enough evidence for that. Remy—” he turned to Casey’s detective friend “—I’m taking Noelani to the closest emergency room. Will you have someone phone Jackson or Casey, and ask them to meet us there?”

  “Will do. Just go before she keels over on us!”

  “I’m fine.” Noelani screwed up her face as Adam swept her off her feet, into his arms. “Poor Casey and Jackson,” she mumbled with a grimace of pain. “They won’t believe this when they hear it. The ER has become a regular family hangout.”

  “Denise is obviously deranged,” he said. “Or maybe she’s linked to Broderick. Let’s hope this is the end of the Fontaines’ troubles.”

  Noelani barely responded. Not even when Adam set her gently in the pickup and carefully buckled her seat belt. She couldn’t seem to lift her arms. “I hope you’re right about this ending our troubles, Adam. Funny, but the last thing Bruce said when I phoned to tell him our news—he said this was my chance for a new beginning and I should grab it with both hands and hold on tight. But—I can’t seem to hold anything tight. It’s like my arms won’t work.”

  Adam backed out of his parking space. He wanted to stop and kiss her. He settled for briefly brushing his knuckles over one ashen cheek. “I think I’d like Bruce Shiller. Too bad he lives so far away.”

  Noelani roused. “Bruce invited himself to our wedding. He wants to stand in for Duke. I hope that’s okay with Jackson and Casey,” she murmured just before she slumped sideways against Adam.

  Her face had gone even whiter. Adam’s stomach pitched. Worse, he noticed something he hadn’t seen before—blood pooling slowly on the leather upholstery under Noelani’s left arm, like a macabre hibiscus unfurling its petals a little at a time.

  He cried her name, but her eyes remained shut. His heart pounded sickeningly. Not knowing what else to do, Adam pushed the speed limit. He didn’t care if a cop saw him. In fact, he hoped one would. She needed a police escort to the emergency room. All the while, he cursed himself for not checking her over earlier. For not phoning an ambulance himself. If he lost her… No, that was unthinkable!

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CASEY, NICK, JACKSON AND Murray ran into the hospital emergency room. When they saw Adam pacing near the windows, they converged on him en masse.

  “Should you be walking around?” Jackson hovered anxiously.

  “I’m fine. It’s Noelani…. She’s in X-ray. The doctor’s pretty sure the bone she cracked before is fractured again. She told me and the cops that she hadn’t been shot. But apparently the bullet grazed her side. Her shirt’s caked with blood. It wasn’t until she went into shock that I saw blood on the truck seat. Thank God, we weren’t too far from the hospital. If anything happens to her—” His voice cracked.

  “From what Remy told us, we expected to find you both on bloody stretchers,” Casey said. “Can you fill us in? Did Denise Rochelle really bug the mill and go berserk and shoot up Noelani’s office?”

  “One shot. I don’t know if she pulled the trigger on purpose, or if the gun went off accidentally when Noelani tried to kick it out of her hand.” Adam shook his head. “Marc’s right about Denise bugging the office, though. And the lab.”

  Nick grinned in spite of the situation. “So I guess it’s true what they say about hell having no fury like a woman scorned, huh, Adam?
”

  Casey elbowed her husband in the ribs so hard, Nick grunted and his smile fled.

  “Shades of her old man,” Murray muttered. “After Duke fired Arlen Rochelle, no one would hire the soused old coot. Finally, my dad put him on the refinery payroll. With employees like that, is it any wonder our refinery went down the tubes?”

  “Denise was sober as a judge tonight. I keep thinking what she might’ve done to Noelani if I’d shown up any later. I should’ve been there at seven, but didn’t arrive at the mill until a quarter after. If I’d been on time, maybe I could have kept this from happening.”

  “And maybe you’d be dead.” Jackson motioned for everyone to sit. “Self-recrimination is a waste of time, Adam. Nobody gets an instant replay in life. The best we can do is put the incident behind us and go forward from here.”

  “Jackson, I never knew you to be so philosophical,” Casey said, gazing on him with sisterly admiration. “Or to have such firm opinions.”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t need an opinion when Duke was alive. He handled every aspect of the business.”

  Murray spun a chair around and propped up his feet. “It’s always like that at my house. Business and personal. Any opinion I express is stupid, wrong, worthless or all of the above.”

  Casey eyed him with some sympathy. “Is Roland on a rampage again?”

  “Since yesterday. I have no clue what set him off. When he gets in these moods, it’s best if I make myself scarce.”

  “Maybe he’s sick,” Jackson said. “I wondered that when he missed the growers’ meeting last Friday.”

  Murray merely shrugged.

  A moment later, Adam leaped up from his chair. “They’re bringing Noelani back from X-ray. I’m going to see how she is.”

  All of them filed into her cubicle, lining up on both sides of Noelani’s gurney. Adam curled his fingers over the hand lying limply at her side. Casey held her good hand, but remained silent as Adam smoothed back Noelani’s dark hair.

  “I guess Adam caught you up on all the excitement,” Noelani said, shifting her gaze to each of the solemn faces gazing down at her.

  “I left the good parts for you to tell,” Adam told her as he and Noelani exchanged an intimate smile.

  Casey immediately picked up on it. “You two made up? Hey, I’ll bet you got engaged, or are talking about getting engaged. I’m right, aren’t I?”

  Jackson, Nick and Murray gaped at Casey. “How did you arrive at that conclusion?” Jackson asked. “Oh, I get it. This is some kind of women’s intuition.”

  Noelani continued to grin at Adam, “Maybe we shouldn’t keep them in suspense. We probably should tell them we are engaged.”

  “I think you just did. Anyway, I was about to explain why I was late getting to your office.” Adam lifted his eyes only briefly from Noelani, then he settled a loving look on her again. “After I turned in my bid at the courthouse, I spent the afternoon buying an engagement ring. Time sort of got away from me.”

  “A ring?” Noelani’s eyes widened, then as quickly glossed with tears. “For me? You never told me you bought me a ring.”

  “Man, what’s taking you so long?” Nick demanded. “Give it to her.”

  “Honestly, Nick. Did you want an audience when you put a ring on my finger?” Casey leaned closer. “We’ll go for coffee and come back later.”

  “No, please. I’d like to share this step. It’s a big one for us. Earlier I phoned Bruce Shiller and backed out of my offer to buy his business. He wants to fly here and walk me down the aisle. Then Mike Arceneaux discovered someone had falsified core-sample reports on Casey’s hybrid cane. Denise showed up with a gun. I broke the pineapple Adam gave me, and there went all our good luck,” she wailed.

  Adam kissed her. “I’ll get you another pineapple paperweight. Shh!”

  Casey shot upright. “Remy didn’t say a word about my samples when we spoke about this latest incident.”

  “He doesn’t know,” Noelani sniffed. “Only Mike and me. Well, and Denise.” Noelani filled them in haltingly on what Mike had unearthed. “Denise admitted culpability,” she said tiredly as the doctor strode through the door brandishing a wet film.

  “Listen here, young lady. We don’t allow repeat customers. Last time I saw you, your clavicle had a hairline crack. Now there’s a nasty break, plus a flesh wound from a bullet.” He held the film to the light so they could all see. “You’ve got to stop whatever horseplay’s going on at that sugar mill.” His grin told them Noelani wasn’t in dire straits.

  “My head’s okay this time. So can I go home with them?”

  “I think we can shore you up sufficiently for that. I’d hate to disappoint your fan club. But perhaps I can talk everyone into waiting in the hall while I truss you up like a Christmas goose.”

  That prompted a general exodus toward the door. “Wait.” Adam blocked their exit. “I was about to give Noelani an engagement ring. Since you’re practically one of the family, doctor, maybe you’d like to join us.”

  “By all means. Engagement rings are exceptionally good medicine.” The doctor passed the film to his tech and motioned the others back to his patient’s side.

  Delving in his pocket, Adam produced a small white box. He flicked it open with his thumb, extracting a solitaire—a yellow diamond set in petals of brushed gold. Before sliding the ring on Noelani’s finger, Adam murmured, “Of all the rings in the shop, I thought this warm, sunny one suited you best. But…if you’d rather have a traditional diamond, sweetheart, the jeweler said we can exchange this one.”

  Noelani’s dark eyes shimmered with tears of joy as she stroked the center stone. No one present in the room right then doubted she’d wear the yellow diamond for the rest of her life.

  TWO WEEKS AFTER THE FAMILY took Noelani home, Bellefontaine’s upper floor rang with feminine giggles and chatter. Toodles, the lone male allowed in this feminine domain, gave all his favorite people happy licks. Esme, Casey, Viv, Megan, Tanya and Betty Rabaud were congregated in the upstairs family room to pass judgement on Noelani’s wedding dress. Midori had sent it from Hawaii. Fashioned from the most exquisite Chinese satin brocade, it had a long train that rustled with each step Noelani took.

  At first Toodles shied away from the noise, then he attacked the fabric, barking furiously. Aunt Esme scooped the high-strung dog into her arms. “I’ve been trying to decide how to decorate for the historic home tour this year,” she said. “I think simple greenery threaded with yellow roses and white magnolias on the downstairs mantels, dotted here and there with flickering white candles in crystal globes. Yellow tapers on the tables. It’ll be quite striking for both the wedding and the tours, don’t you agree?”

  Casey shrugged. “Decorating’s not my thing. Noelani?” She deferred to the bride-to-be, who pressed a kiss against Aunt Esme’s soft cheek.

  “I can’t believe you’re all going to such trouble for me. Adam so wanted us to be married at Magnolia Manor. Thrilled though he was to learn he’d topped Mr. Dewalt’s bid, he’s disappointed that he can’t possibly complete renovations between now and Thanksgiving.”

  “And none of us can help, what with stepping up the cane-cutting.”

  Viv stretched daintily. “At least that despicable Denise Rochelle got her due.”

  Tanya stirred from her spot on the floor. “Jackson says Duke never caused Mr. Rochelle to lose his house and land. And Jackson thinks Denise is crazy like a fox.”

  “That’s Nick’s theory, too,” Casey murmured, worry lines forming between her eyebrows.

  “Please, haven’t we talked that subject to death?” Esme fussed with the scallops around the gown’s off-the-shoulder neckline. “This neck is so…so…open. In my day, wedding dresses had…more material.”

  Viv studied the dress. “I hope the doctor lets you get rid of this unsightly bandage, Noelani.” She paused, tilting her head slightly. “You know what it needs as a final touch, Auntie E? A magnolia-and-yellow rosebud lei. With a simple flower crown.
”

  Megan, looking like a Dresden doll in her new, ruffled pink party dress, skipped over the train to hug Noelani. The girl had really blossomed after Noelani and Adam had asked her to serve as their flower girl.

  “I bet you can make Noelani a lei, Auntie Viv.”

  “What a good idea. We can all help.”

  “Leis aren’t all that easy to make,” Noelani rushed to say. “I’ll ask Bruce to bring one of white hibiscus and ginger flowers. He’s flying in from Hawaii the morning of the wedding.”

  “Don’t order one, Noelani. I’ll help Viv make one. My dress won’t be ready for a final fitting for two weeks,” Casey said. “We’ve got plenty of time to order extra flowers. Is there anything we’re forgetting? Something borrowed. Blue. Old. New. We don’t need another speck of bad luck, so I sure hope we have all the bases covered.”

  Aunt Esme shushed her. “Cassandra, I swear. All your pessimism will give you wrinkles—if it doesn’t invite trouble where none exists.”

  Viv waved frantically to gain everyone’s attention. “Listen, I hear heavy footsteps on the stairs.

  Casey bolted from her seat on the couch and ran to block the doorway. “Who’s entering our lair?” she said in her best imitation of Goldilocks.

  “Only us social outcasts,” Adam called. Male laughter drifted into the room as Nick and Jackson added their own comments.

  “Can’t any of you read?” Viv flew out the door and met the boisterous trio on the landing. “I posted a sign on the newel post below reading Women Only beyond that point. Shoo. Go away until we’re finished fitting Noelani’s wedding gown.”

  “I came to tell her it’s time to go to her doctor’s appointment.” Adam backed off and moved down a few steps. “We have to leave in ten minutes if she wants X rays to see if they’ll remove her bandage before the wedding.”

  “We’ll hurry. Somehow that bulky bandage ruins the effect of a low-cut dress.”

  “Low-cut? How low?” Adam waggled his eyebrows. “And red, I hope.”